Selenium and Selenocysteine in Protein Chemistry
 

Selenium and Selenocysteine in Protein Chemistry


Selenocysteine, the selenium-containing analog of cysteine, is the twenty-first proteinogenic amino acid. Since its discovery almost fifty years ago, it has been exploited in unnatural systems more often than in natural systems. Selenocysteine chemistry has attracted the attention of many chemists in the field of chemical biology due to its high reactivity and resulting utility in various applications including chemical modification, chemical protein (semi-)synthesis, and protein folding, to name a few. In this review, we will focus on the chemistry of selenium and selenocysteine and their utility in protein chemistry.

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